2013 VFR breaking problem

Hey everyone Im looking for some expert opinion. My VFR only has about 2k miles on it. The other day I took it out of the garage for the 1st time in about 6 months and went for a 2 hour ride.
No problems until later in the ride when I grabbed the break (not very aggressively) and nothing happened. The conditions were dry, strait and level. It felt like the resistance you would get with ABS but the light didnt come on. It happened again when coming up to a light; nearly ran into the back of a stopped car.
I checked my breaks and ABS ring when I got back. Nothing wrong.

Thoughts?

 

The two things I would check is the calipers, make sure they are clean and no issues with stuck Pistons, and the fluid level and quality.

Take the wheels off the bike and inspect the calipers. See if you can move the pistons back into the caliper and then squeeze the brake lever and watch how the pistons move. Is the movement smooth? Does the pad close evenly? Also check the slide pin and see if it looks corroded or dirty and might be causing the pad to bind, rather than just slide evenly.

Regarding the brake fluid, I have seen some pretty sad cases of brake fluid being way beyond its usable fluid state, read: thick and congealed! Sometimes the fluid level is low and just over due for a flush/fill. If doing this is above your comfort zone or you have no experience dealing with braking systems, you may want to take it to reputable shop. Personally I would not ride the bike until I got this resolved and that includes getting the bike to a shop.

 

* Brake
So your brakes are breaking?

 

There broke...

 

I am anxiously awaiting to hear the (hopeful) resolution to this.

When you cover all the things that OOTV mentioned you could find the brakes binding. After a long ride they heated up, and would have become ineffective until cooling down. Or if the fluid condition is bad, the fluid compressed, which reduces or eliminates pressure on the pads.

I was thinking this was electro-mechanical, aka the ABS activated and stopped the brakes from working. But if there is an ABS problem, I would think that system is fault tolerant, aka, if any conditions are present where it is not working correctly, it would go to the "off" position and not affect brake operation. In my mind I came full circle from thinking it was ABS to thinking along OOTV's lines, that there is a more traditional physical problem.

Not sure how long you have had the bike, so I wonder if the fluid could get so bad on a young bike. That presents the possibility of air in the system, maybe from low fluid as was pointed out, or a leak you haven't seen yet.

Edit: Check your fork for leaking oil that ended up on the brakes.

Keep us informed!

 

" I would not ride the bike until I got this resolved and that includes getting the bike to a shop."

Me neither..

 

Took the bike to a local Honda shop with ABS certified tech. They couldn't recreate the problem. I rode the bike around, going easily, and couldn't recreate the problem again.

I have only had the bike for a year and it has been garage kept when it wasn't on the road.

Again, cant put my finger on the problem. Hope it doesnt happen again.

 

This sort of problem just doesn't go away, it will raise its head again so be careful

 

Flush the system and make sure no air bubble
Keep your eyes on the fluid level.....Keep on riding :thumbup: